Smart School Stands Out with Cutting-Edge Technology -Sejong City in Korea-

March 10th, 2012

See collection of all new ICT learning tools here

HansolHigh Schoolopened on March 2 at theFirstTownapartment complex. One of the new sophomores of the school Jihye JEON goes into the school gate and as soon as the Radio-Frequency Identification reader checks in her electronic student ID, it sends a text message that says “Jihye JEON has arrived at school at08:20” to her parents.

The RFID reader sends a text messages to parents when a student checks in.

Her classroom on the fourth floor is full of IT tools for learning such as electronic board, electronic lecture desk, smart pad, message board and wireless antenna (AP). She has 24 class mates in her classroom. JEON checks new information such as timetable, school activity, lunch menu, etc. through her message board.

When the class starts, her teacher writes on the electronic board with various colors and students can see this right on their smart pad in real time. A student sends a question to the teacher through the smart pad and she sends the answer back to the whole class. This interactive mode allows teachers to check if their students are concentrating on and keeping up with the class.

While students are in the class, their safety is in control on the second floor of the school. Six schools in theFirstTownare seen on the screens. Two of them show the least traffic area of each school through CCTV cameras. Two more screens show the server status and the rest two show whether the facilities such as electricity, elevators, air-conditioners, and firefighting equipment are in good condition.

All the schools in Sejong will be as smart asHansolHigh School. Cutting-edge ICT tools make learning and teaching ubiquitous in Sejong. The Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency gave a demonstration of the smart school system on February 15 to showcase the use of the system in real education environment.

Audio-visual rooms on the first floor are equipped with 200-inch silver screen and soundproof walls to enjoy 3D movies as if you are in a cinema. Outside the school building is a small ecological park.

School violence or bullying is strictly prohibited as the school installs CCTV cameras at some least traffic area. The camera records voice as well and when a student presses an emergency button, a couple of cameras angle to that direction. The video taken is sent to principal, vice principal, teachers’ office, and administration office. The system is expected to tackle any forms of school violence which has been a serious issue and frequent news item recently.

MACCA’s Deputy Chairman Chungjae LEE said “Media and education officials and experts have long been curious about the smart school system in Sejong. I believe this is a great opportunity to give Sejong a momentum to be a world-class city with its superior learning environment and competitive advantage in education.”

Throughout this year, Sejong will have six schools open – four (one kindergarten, elementary/junior high/high school each) in March and two (one kindergarten and one elementary school) in September. By 2030 when the city is completed, 150 schools (66 kindergartens, 41 elementary schools, 21 junior high schools, 20 high schools, and 2 special schools) will be established in Sejong.

For more information, call the Education Facility Planning Division at 41-860-9223.

The City is named after King Sejong who profoundly impacted Korean history with the introduction of Hangul, the alphabet system of the Korean language and technological advances during his reign in the 15th century.